South African football's cry for a return to our identity borders on ill-informed nostalgic tendencies.
The turbulence of the apartheid era defined our football. For years, South African football was banned from the international stage. People of colour had to have their own football associations, which regardless of the overall football ban, had little relevance to football, albeit with some political implications.
The point is, football was a way of life. It was our place to wind down and smile. We had a style. Watch Teenage Dladla and Ace at their prime. I have a DVD of the game back in 1978 against Wits. They had skills, class, and purpose.
Today South African football is misrepresented. It is defined by wasteful showboating even when the game is still open. I am not advocating for us to play European football, all I am asking is for us to revisit the past. We will find our identity and it has nothing to do with amateurish showboating. There was entertainment.
